1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to telecommunication networks, and in particular, to a system for providing selected advertisements between subscribers utilizing video telephones.
2. Description of Related Art
Video teleconferencing has existed for a number of years, but due to its high-cost, it has not gained widespread acceptance. As technology advances, methods are being developed to provide more bandwidth over telephone lines, making the possibility of widespread video telephony more realistic. However, the cost is still too high for widespread applications in the commercial and private sectors.
Concurrently, advertisers continue to look for new ways to advertise their products, and to advertise more effectively. Methods of targeting advertising have become increasingly sophisticated. For example, many grocery stores now print coupons for customers at the checkout counter which provide discounts for items similar to those that the customer just purchased. Meanwhile, commercial use of the Internet also continues to grow. Revenues from advertisements are increasingly used to make Internet services viable. Search engines on the Internet and push technology provide constantly updated advertisements to consumers.
It would be a distinct advantage to have a system that provides targeted advertising to telephone subscribers who are involved in a video telephone call. Fees from such advertising could be utilized to subsidize the high cost of video telephony, thus enabling widespread use of this technology. Such a system would also provide advertisers with a new medium for selling their goods and services. The present invention provides such a system.
In one aspect, the present invention is a system in a telecommunications network for providing selected advertisements to subscribers utilizing video telephones. The system includes a calling subscriber""s video telephone having a display screen, an information source that stores a plurality of advertisements, and a centralized database that stores advertising preferences for the calling subscriber. The system also retrieves selected advertisements from the information source. The selected advertisements are based on the advertising preferences for the calling subscriber. The system also sends the retrieved advertisements to the calling subscriber""s video telephone.
The centralized database may also store advertising preferences for the called subscriber, and the information source may also select advertisements based on the advertising preferences for the called subscriber. These advertisements may be retrieved and sent to the called subscriber""s switch for display to the called subscriber during the call.
In another aspect, the present invention is a method of delivering selected advertisements to a calling subscriber conducting a video telephone call from a video telephone connected to a switch in a telecommunications network. The method starts by obtaining an advertising preference from the calling subscriber. A central database connected to the switch then stores the preference. Next, a plurality of advertisements are stored in an information source connected to the switch. The switch then retrieves a selected advertisement from the plurality of advertisements stored in the information source based on the stored preference of the calling subscriber. Next, the calling subscriber""s switch sends the selected advertisement to the calling subscriber""s video telephone.